Breathe Underwater
by cannn
Summary: Life has always been harsh on him. But what if he found someone able to save him from the darkness and lead him to the light? Follow Laxus and Julie (my OC) through a path battered by a violent father, rape, betrayal, drugs, prostitutes and exile which will lead them to find love despite everything. But will their happiness last forever?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Hey guys!:) This is the first story I publish and I'm very excited about this!:D I really hope you'll enjoy it, and I'd really appreciate if you spent a little of your time to review. I'll be happier if I see positive comments, but also critics will be gladly accepted because they'll help me to improve!;) (If you have suggestions write them down too!)

P.S. If you see any kind of mistakes (spelling, grammar, structure of the sentence...) and want to signal it to me I'll be very thankful. This way I'll be able to improve my English and if I'm a good learner none of you will shudder next time you read something I wrote!XD

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Fairy tail and the fic is inspired by the namesake song "Breathe Underwater" from Placebo.

Have a nice reading! Bye!:D

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><p>Year X774.<p>

It was a cold day of December and the snow was falling slowly on the city of Hargeon coloring roofs, trees and streets of white and creating a magical atmosphere. While people were busy buying Christmas presents for the ones the held dear, somebody arrived at the train station. A young blonde haired mage, proud member of the strongest guild in the whole kingdom of Fiore, got off a train and ran to take a seat on a bench waiting to recover from his motion sickness. Since he became a Dragon Slayer he couldn't help it: he felt sick the exact moment he stepped on a means of transport and even after all that time he still couldn't get used to it. He thought about how much his life had changed that year: he agreed to become a Dragon Slayer just to be accepted by his father. He felt like that man had never loved him because of his weakness. Yeah, he was weak and he hated it. He was ashamed of it. So when he got the chance to get stronger, he immediately took it hoping that his father would start appreciating him and all the efforts he made to please him.

He was actually very surprised when he received that proposal: Ivan had never shown love or consideration for him. Thinking that for once he was concerned for his problems, Laxus excitedly accepted, without imagining the risks of what he was going to do. He just knew he was going to become a Dragon Slayer, someone able to kill dragons. Someone strong.

The fateful day came a few weeks later and his father brought him in a building in the middle of nowhere he didn't know. Ivan told him that that place would have soon become his guild. The child once overheard him fighting with his grandfather and saying that he wanted to found his own guild, but he didn't think he would have truly done it. He thought that he had said it just because he was angry, people say many things they don't really mean when they are upset. But there he was, his first time at Raven Tail, the specialized Anti-Fairy Tail guild. He didn't even know why his father hated Fairy Tail so much. Though he knew he had never got along well with his grandfather, the master of the guild: they fought every single day and Makarov threatened to expel his son because he had found out he planned to do something which would put in danger the guild members' life.

They entered in a small, dimly lit room. The only source of light was a chandelier hanging above a metallic table with leather straps. Next to the table there was a smaller one with scalpels, cotton, gauzes and other equipment. But what Laxus feared the most was a drill. Why the hell would his father need a drill?! This question kept repeating itself in his head and was literally driving him crazy.

The boy then obeyed his father's order and lay down on the big table, while the man blocked his arms and legs. His father had carried a suitcase during the travel and the young boy wondered what was the mysterious thing that would have made him a Dragon Slayer inside it. When the man opened it a dragon lacrima was revealed. The electricity buzzing inside it radiating light and power could be seen through the crystal. The boy stared at it in awe, but as soon as he was told that it had to be put inside him, terror slowly started to consume him, especially seeing how big it was. Laxus was starting to regret his choice, he just wanted to leave that scary place and act like nothing was supposed to happen that day, but he couldn't and didn't dare show his internal turmoil. Or at least he tried to. He wanted his father to be proud of him so he just waited patiently for him to start the operation and squeezed his eyes shut trying to control his body and stop shaking until he suddenly felt pain.

His left eye snapped wide open at the horrible sensation. He couldn't see anything, his vision was blurred by pain and tears, but where his right eye was it was even worse: the first thing he felt was his skin being painfully cut with a scalpel and then stretched. But that was only the beginning of his nightmare. He heard the drill being operated and he found out in the worst possible way what it was for. He could feel it scratch, dig and pierce into the bones of his skull. After that he couldn't understand anything else, he was literally sinking and drowning in pain. He felt his heart throbbing painfully in his ears. It was like his head could explode anytime. He felt a sticky warm liquid streaming from his wounds on the table. It was blood. His blood. His muscles started automatically to twitch without him being able to control them: his arms and legs were trying to free themselves from the grip of the straps. His whole body was desperately trying to tell him that what he was forcing it to feel was just too much, it was trying to escape that torture by itself but there was no use. Laxus had completely lost his self control and even if he didn't want to, even if he refused to look that weak in front of his father, he started screaming out of pain, sobbing and begging him to stop. He had probably started doing it a very long time before he even realized it. But his father didn't stop.

Ivan didn't care about his son's pain. He didn't care about his son at all. Laxus had actually understood it, the treatment he reserved to him every day made it very clear, but who can deal with such a painful thing? The only thing that kept him from ending his miserable life was the hope that one day things would change. He himself was willing to change. Because despite everything he loved his father. He was too naïve to understand that he was such an asshole that he didn't deserve anyone to care about him. That's why he kept bearing his indifference and violence during his entire life: he wanted to make his dream come true and decided that he would have done everything that it would take to achieve his goal. So there was he now: a second generation Dragon Slayer. His body was now strong and resistant. _He_ wanted to look strong and resistant.

But the truth was that he was broken inside and nothing and nobody could relief him, not even his beloved grandfather, the only one standing by his side when he woke up two days after his father implanted the dragon lacrima inside his body. His head was wrapped in bandages, pain still throbbing inside it. His vision was blurred: his right eye was covered with cotton, gauzes and plasters and his left eye was filled with his own tears, because he had seen that his father wasn't there with him. He could see his grandfather's concerned face and heard him asking him something. But the sound of his voice was so loud now it hurt his ears and his words were confused so he had to struggle to figure out that the old man was asking him how he was feeling. He tried to answer. He wanted to say that he was fine even if he wasn't fine at all, but the words simply died in his throat. He physically hadn't enough strength to talk and mentally not enough strength to lie. Tears just ran by themselves down his left cheek and sobs shook his little body giving a clear answer to his grandfather who was trying in vain to comfort him. All that the young mage could think about was why wasn't his father there standing next to him.

He tried hard to remember what happened before he passed out: he was screaming aloud: "Dad please stop! It hurts! I can't take this anymore!". But his father seemed to ignore him. The child couldn't see him, all he saw was blinding pain. But he heard him speaking in his usual honeyed tone: "Oh come on Laxus-chan! Is it possible that you can't bear such a little pain? I didn't think you were this weak! But apparently I was wrong…You really disappoint me". Laxus wanted to tell his father that yeah, he was wrong, but not for the reason he was talking about. He wanted to tell him that he was strong and he had no right to tell him those words and that he didn't give a shit about his disappointment in that moment. But he couldn't, it wasn't the little pain his father described the thing he was feeling. The truth was that he was facing something bigger than him. He had been very brave, but his father didn't acknowledge it. He opened his mouth trying to speak, but everything that came out of it were just screams and sobs. Seeing there was no way to stop that torture, Laxus gave up and accepted his suffering, but then he felt a burning pain caused by the electricity buzzing and crackling at first in his head and then spreading in an instant in his whole body through his nerves. The lacrima was adjusting in his new location donating him its extraordinary powers. In that moment Laxus passed out because the pain was too strong.

Coming back to reality all that he was able to croak out was: "Sorry". He owed his grandfather some apologies. When he discovered what his son wanted to do to his grandson, the old man got furious. He spoke to his son telling him that what he wanted to do was crazy, but seeing that he had no intention to listen to him, he reluctantly spoke to his grandson. He didn't want to put him against his father, it wasn't a right thing to do, but he had to convince him not to pander him. Not this time. He had to convince him that what his father wanted to do to him wasn't right. Laxus disagreed with him: his grandfather knew all too well about his problems with strength and self-esteem but he had never done anything about it. He just kept repeating that if someone truly loved him, then they would love him even if he was weak. Now that his father extraordinarily wanted to help him, he wanted him to refuse? Didn't he care about his feelings either? The young mage got angry and told his grandfather to stay away from him because he hated him and didn't want to see him anymore. What could Makarov do then? He was hurt by his grandson's words. A lot. He loved him more than his own life and all he wanted was him to be happy and not to end being like his father or live a miserable life. But he couldn't do anything, he couldn't get close to his grandson because he had to respect his wish: he wanted, _no_ needed to show him that he cared about his desires and feelings. So he let the young boy learn from his own mistakes, no matter how much he didn't want him to suffer like that. He was basically forced to let that happen.

Now it was so painful to see Laxus like that, and all he could do was telling him that he didn't need to be sorry and that everything was going to be ok. But he knew that it wasn't going to be ok. He knew what his grandson really wanted: it was his father to love him. It wasn't a strange or a big request, fathers usually love their children. That was normality. But unfortunately that didn't seem likely to happen. He just didn't understand why Ivan was like that. He was cold, rude, uncaring, selfish. All he could think about was money. Why was he never present in his son's life? Why wasn't he there when he needed him? How could he not care about his own son? How could he not notice how much he suffered? Makarov was shocked when he came back with his grandson in his arms two days before. Laxus's sweet face was disfigured by poorly patched up wounds and covered in blood dripping from them and trickling on the wooden floor of the guild. But what shocked the old man the most were his son's disappointed look and his cruel words: "He cried like a bitchie the whole time. I did it in the end but my efforts to keep calm and not slap him right in that stupid face of his are not worth it. I guess I shouldn't have wasted my precious time for this weakling. This is the last time I consider him." Then he dropped his child on the floor and went to take a beer. The old man didn't know what to do or even what to say. He just couldn't speak. His mouth was dry and his mind was searching for words which were nowhere to be found. He felt a mix of emotions and didn't know what to face first: wrath, shock, guilt, sympathy for his grandson. How could Ivan think that his son was a stupid weakling that didn't even deserve his care?! It was his son they were talking about! His own blood and flesh! He was just a child that needed his father's love and attention. But then he figured it out: the real child there wasn't Laxus. It was Ivan. _His_ son. He thought he had been a good father and that he would have been a good example for him. But apparently he hadn't. And now the mistakes he had made as father were having repercussions on his grandson's life and he felt _so_ guilty.

But the priority in that moment was Laxus, his life was definitely in danger and he had to save him. He took his small figure in his arms and brought him in the guild's infirmary. Then he called Porlyusica and she did everything she could. She managed to save Laxus's life and even his vision: it's thanks to her that now he isn't blind in his right eye. Waiting for his grandson to wake up and watching him sleep peacefully under the effect of the painkillers like nothing had happened, Makarov kept thinking about those events and felt so stupid: he should have never allowed such a thing. Yeah, his grandson's feelings were important but his life meant so much more. He couldn't even think that he had risked to lose him like that. His life would have never been the same. _He_ would have never been the same. He was so mad at himself for being so negligent. "This shall never happen again" he solemnly promised to himself. In the meantime Ivan had disappeared. And now his grandson was there, crying because of his father's absence. All Makarov could do now was staying with him, feeling useless, but trying to help him recover both physically and mentally all the same.

The child's body healed very fast. There was only a big scar left on the right side of his face which constantly reminded him that he should have listened to his grandfather's words. But even though his body had been fast, his soul and heart just couldn't heal. He had always been a cheerful and kind boy. But everything he had been put through had changed him irretrievably. He was now so closed, he didn't care about making friends with the other children who arrived in the guild, he acted more mature than any other boy of his age and he was obsessed in becoming the strongest of all. In fact despite the pain and the trauma and everything else, he had gained a huge power and the wonderful senses of a Dragon Slayer: his vision was more precise, now he could see small details that escaped his attention before, he could hear low and far noises as if they were being produced right next to him and perceive every single detail and movement around him. Even his sense of smell was now exacerbated: he could clearly distinguish a person's scent. It took a while for him to get used to it, it was a brand new perception of the world that surrounded him, very different from what it used to be, but now he could perfectly use all this to his advantage. He became everyday stronger making everybody proud of him. Everybody except the only one he truly wanted to make proud. His father didn't seem to care at all. His grandfather had considered expelling Ivan for his terrible and reckless actions, but his grandson begged him not to do it and he decided to choose another punishment for this time because he had seen how much his grandson needed his father's presence and didn't want to separate them. Naturally Makarov didn't tell his grandson what his father had said about him, even if maybe it would have made him realize many things. But he couldn't really do this to him, he couldn't add even this pain to the one he was already feeling.

So Laxus didn't give up and kept training and getting stronger and stronger and completing harder missions every time, thinking, but most of all hoping, that maybe when he had become an S-class mage, his father would have noticed his efforts and value. At first he didn't stand out in the guild thanks to his power and strength, he was just some weak lightning mage and his importance came from the fact that he was the master's grandson. But now he had become one of the strongest mages in the guild and wanted everybody to admire his power and his strength not seeing him just as Makarov Dreyar's grandson, but acknowledging that his qualities and abilities came only from him and his efforts. At the end of the next year he would have taken part to the S-class trials and was extremely determined to pass his exam. He was sure he would have succeeded and would have shown everybody his newly found great power. His father would have been nicely surprised. Smirking at the thought, he got up. His stomach was still protesting, but it was time to complete the mission.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Hey guys!:D Thanks to everybody who viewed, favorited, reviewed or put the story among their story alerts or me among their author alerts, I know it's not a huge number of people, but I'm very happy nonetheless knowing also that stories with OCs usually don't get the same attention the other stories without them do!

So this chapter is more of a transition chapter, it feels a little stupid to me, but it's necessary and I dropped a couple of hints about future things ;)

This is all for me, have a nice reading and don't forget to tell me what you think about it!;) Bye!:)

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><p>Laxus got out of the station heading to the client's house. He walked down the streets with his hands stuffed in his pockets listening to the music of his old and worn out sound pod and not paying much attention to the whitened surroundings all adorned with Christmas lights and other decorations. He kept walking looking into the shop windows. There were clothes shops, shoes shops, bookshops, jewelries and so many toys centers and he could see people buying tons of presents.<p>

He sadly realized that he had never received anything from his father. Everything which belonged to him, he had bought it by himself with the money he earned by going on missions or was a present from his grandfather. Thinking about him his expression softened: "Maybe after the mission I'll buy Gramps something for Christmas" he thought to himself. He loved his old man, he was the only true family he had, the only one who cared about him and defended him from his father's unmotivated wrath. Unfortunately he couldn't always be there when his father went on a rampage, so most of the times he had to bear violent beatings and words full of hatred and contempt.

It had stopped snowing for a while, but looking at the horizon the young mage could clearly see white and heavy clouds laden with a huge amount of snow coming closer and felt the chilly wind blow making him feel the intense cold in his bones and shiver. Signs that a blizzard was about to come. "How troublesome" he thought. He would have preferred not to be forced to complete the mission out there in that cold, but the sooner he completed it, the sooner he would be able to be at the guild, sipping a delicious sweet hot chocolate or even better at home: he wouldn't have been surrounded by all those noisy brats, snuggling in the warmth of his bed. Not that he didn't like his guild mates, but all the brawls and the requests from Natsu to fight him were annoying sometimes, and he preferred relaxing in a quieter place. Then he thought also about his duties: there was a little girl missing and he couldn't let her stay somewhere out there for so long. She was exposed to the cold and many other dangers and probably couldn't even defend herself. He had to hurry up, so he fastened his pace, wanting to get all the information from the client as soon as he could.

Once he got to the client's house he knocked on the door and was welcomed by a tall young man. He invited in the young boy who had politely greeted him and introduced himself as Laxus Dreyar, a Fairy Tail mage, saying that he was there because he had accepted to help him with his request. The man looked relieved in seeing that there was someone willing to help him and introduced himself as well: "My name is Paul Evans. I really thank you for being here" he smiled and stretched out a hand towards Laxus.

Laxus silently grabbed the man's hand for a handshake and thought that he already knew that name, but in that moment he just couldn't recall where he had already heard or seen it before. The boy forced a smile out of courtesy and studied the man in front of him for a second: he was very tall and slim and had light blue eyes, black hair and a black, long and messy beard. It looked like he hadn't shaved for a while. Then he made himself comfortable on the couch where Mr. Evans had invited him to sit on and started acting in a professional manner asking the man a few things about the girl.

"Can you tell me something about your daughter, Mr. Evans?" he started.

"Of course. What do you want to know?"

"Name, age, physical description, attitude, history, how long she has been missing and some of the places she might have gone to, if she hasn't been kidnapped"

"Her name is Julie, she's 10 years old. She has long, wavy, brown hair and green eyes. She's tall and quite thin. She's a sweet girl, and she has always been a very cheerful and lively child, until her mother's death when she was 5. Christina's death has destroyed the both of us. I think she could see my sorrow, even though I tried to hide it from her. I tried to be the same man I was before, but I am not that person anymore. But my wife's death has changed her deeply as well. She has become shy, fearful, sad… But the worst thing is that now she doesn't want to see me, I think she hates me for not being as strong as I should. Maybe she doesn't recognize me as the man who was her father anymore. She has become a liar and makes up every sort of excuses to justify her outrushes. I don't really think she has been abducted because sadly, this is not the first time she runs away from home and I have to call someone to find her. I'm very worried about her, she has been missing for three days by now. The last time she has run away, she has been found to the seaside, but the previous time she was hidden in the woods, so I don't really know where she might be hiding this time. I'm sorry not to be able to help" the man replied.

"You've been exhaustive" Laxus assured.

"I just hope she's safe and that nobody harmed her" the man sighed.

Those words hurt the young mage: "If I were the one missing, my father wouldn't even bother to know if at least I'm doing well. He would hope I'm dead" he thought bitterly. It wasn't the first time he had such thoughts, but he kept repeating himself that he couldn't care less, though in reality he did. He felt bad because he envied those perfect families with a loving mother, a kind father and cheerful children and felt sad thinking that he would never find something like that waiting for him at home. He didn't have a mother anymore, his father was anything but kind or loving and he would never get the chance to be like one of those joyful and lighthearted children. After some time he simply decided to turn his feelings off: why would he need feelings if they were so painful? The truth was that he was afraid to face all that grief, because he knew that if he did it would have devoured him. He regained his composure thinking that he had to do the job and couldn't let himself get carried away by his own feelings. "I don't need them" he reminded himself firmly.

In the end he asked the girl's father one last thing: a piece of her clothing or something she had recently touched. In other words, something which carried her scent. If he followed it, he was sure that with his Dragon Slayer nose he would find her tracks in no time and getting to her would be much easier. The man paled and stared at him dumbfounded. Laxus just chuckled at his reaction and proudly explained him his plan, so the man complied and brought him a small white sundress. After he gathered all the information and the things he needed, he bid his farewell to Mr. Evans who greeted him as well and got out of the house. He felt sympathy for that man: he had lost the love of his life and had to be strong for his daughter. He couldn't let himself go. That was definitely something hard to go through. And he had lived without a mother too, so he could completely understand how that little girl felt.

Outside the air was even colder than before and the boy cursed. With all the wind and the snow his powerful nose wouldn't be so much of use as he hoped. He tried to smell the girl all the same, he was clutching her small dress in his hands and brought it close to his nose inhaling her scent: she smelled like almonds and soft fruits. It was really a sweet scent and he loved it. Little did he know that in a little time he would find himself falling in love with the person who carried it. He tried to smell the air but it was really hard to find the girl's wake. He asked some people around, but they weren't helpful at all. He was getting seriously pissed, nobody had ever seen that girl. Were they kidding him?! That was impossible! His patience was reaching its limit and since he wasn't getting any help, he decided to stop asking around and took a pause to think what to do next. He went in a bar and took a hot chocolate to warm himself so that he could think better. He had been walking around the city in search of the client's daughter for over two hours right in the middle of the blizzard and he was literally freezing. He was worried about the girl too. If he was in those conditions, he didn't want to imagine hers. He had to find her fast. But how?

After a couple of minutes the waiter brought him his chocolate and saw him looking very anxious. She handed the boy a mug and asked him: "Is it everything ok? You've been staring at the window for a while".

"Thanks. And not really, I'm a mage on a mission, I've been asked to look for a little girl and I'm very worried about her because I can't find her and well, look at the weather. I don't even know if she can handle herself. Is there any chance you saw a girl around 10 years old with brown hair and green eyes alone?"

The waiter thought for a moment if she had to help him or not. Maybe he didn't know about that man's lies, but there was still a chance that he was helping him with whatever went through his wicked mind. But then she looked at him, and it didn't really seem like he wanted to hurt someone. It actually looked like he really cared about the girl's safety. So she decided to trust him, she couldn't do anything for that girl but she hoped that he would save her because she looked in trouble. "I actually did. She looked like she was running away, though. She was heading towards the mountains"

The mage's eyes sparkled with gratitude in a childish attitude he had abandoned for long time. "Thanks miss!" he said. He took the dress with him and was about to sprint out of the bar when the waiter stopped him: "Wait! I have one more thing to tell you!" She had to tell him the truth, otherwise he would have brought her back to that impostor. The Dragon Slayer turned around and raised a questioning eyebrow remaining silent as he waited for her to speak.

"The man who asked for your help, did he have black hair, a beard and light blue eyes?" she asked.

"Yeah"

"Did he introduce himself as Paul Evans?"

"He did. But why are you asking me this?" she had caught his attention.

"Don't believe a single word of what that man told you. He came here a few days ago looking for the same girl you were asking about earlier and said he was Paul Evans: father of Julie Evans. I had the feeling I had already heard those names and I did some researches. Paul Evans and his wife Christina Evans died 5 years ago in a mysterious explosion, and their daughter, Julie Evans, is missing ever since" she explained.

Now he understood why the name looked so familiar: he heard his grandfather talking about that story a few years earlier. "Thanks for the warning, but even if he lied to me there's still that girl you saw running away out there and she might be in danger right now. I must save her". With that Laxus rushed through the snow heading towards the mountains and was determined to find the girl. He also hoped that she would give him an explanation. Afterwards, he would have kicked that bastard's ass to make him pay, especially for making him feel such a douchebag for not realizing by himself he was lying. The waiter smiled softly and thought she had done the right thing. She inwardly wished the mage a good luck.

In the meantime, the self-styled Mr. Evans was still laughing evilly in his house. Just as he closed the door when Laxus left about three hours before he let out a sigh of relief: "Now I only have to wait for him and put on a happy and grateful face for the moment he gives me the girl back!" he thought excitedly. He couldn't certainly imagine that Laxus had found out the truth and that in a few hours he would beat him to a bloody pulp. But just as he thought of the fugitive, the man's mood changed: he narrowed his eyes in anger. "That stupid girl, she's going to pay for escaping me. She definitely is. She forced me to put up all this act and involve strangers. I'll teach her a lesson she won't forget that easily. She is going to face my wrath and learn something called respect, but most importantly, that she has to show it to me from now on. And if she dares telling that boy something, even the tiniest bit of truth, things are going to get even worse for her!" a sick smile formed on his face. "Oh, but she won't talk. I've already killed her little friends, she must be so scared of me that she won't tell him a word. She perfectly knows what I can do to him if he dares turning against me" Having been one of her tormentors for 5 long years he knew all of her weaknesses: "She is too loyal and good: she would never risk her savior's life, especially after what happened to those two. Everything is going as planned and Master Brain will spare my life! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAH!" he laughed maniacally.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Hey guys! :) (I'm starting to think that I'll begin every author's note with a "Hey guys!" XD). Thanks again to viewers, reviewers, etc... and a special thanks goes to velvetSunset who really made my days with her comments and if it wasn't for her I definitely wouldn't have updated today (you have no idea of how busy I've been lately, but her poking me in her own way helped me to focus on this instead than on other things).

So I stop the complaining and here's the chapter! Have a nice reading! Bye!:D (I'm also starting to think that I'll end every author's note with this XD)

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><p>After 3 hours Laxus was still running in the mountains, fury coursing through his body for having been tricked like that. He didn't move under the shape of a lightning to save magic and energy for an eventual battle, but he was getting tired nonetheless.<p>

He reached a forest and after treading a few kilometres, he heard a loud scream. Following the direction from which it came, he got to a small cave. When he entered he saw a Vulcan attacking a little girl who perfectly matched the description of the one he had to look for. He immediately blasted a Lightning Dragon's Roar towards the Vulcan temporarily frying it. Once it recovered, the annoyed beast dashed towards Laxus, starting a furious brawl. It didn't take a long time before the Vulcan was defeated, its limbs still twitching with electricity as Laxus went and checked on the girl's conditions: she was covered in black marks and cuts and had a collar on her neck and handcuffs on her wrists which made the blonde wizard frown, but he decided to keep silent about that for the time being. "Thanks for saving me" she said giving him a sweet smile, hoping that that boy wasn't someone _he _sent to bring her back to that place.

Laxus slightly blushed and averted his gaze. "Your wounds need to be treated. Let's go find a doctor".

"Ok" she wobbly stood up taking his hand, and he sent a jolt of electricity to the Vulcan: "Wake up you lazy ass, you gotta give us a ride before we get stuck in here because of the snow". The beast whined, standing up with a hangdog look and let its new master and his friend climb its back.

During the ride Laxus noticed that the little girl was violently shaking for the blistering cold wind. It was no surprise since she was wearing just a tattered gown, so he didn't think twice about lending her his sweatshirt despite he was as cold as her even before taking it off. He gave it to her with a scowl on his face without even looking at her in the eye and she gratefully accepted it with a small smile. After a good five minutes Laxus wasn't considering the temperature anymore though, he had a way bigger problem and he was cursing himself and inwardly facepalming for not thinking about it before. Noticing he was turning green, the girl asked him if he was ok, and he, being too proud to admit to have a weakness, ignored a retch and told her he was fine. She seemed quite skeptical, but gave a nod and didn't question him further. He felt a little mocked by her expression and didn't know if he had to get offended or not, but another retch diverted his mind from these thoughts.

They reached the doctor's clinic in half an hour and Laxus hastily got off the Vulcan, grateful to be able to touch the ground again. The doctor stood horrified as he saw the conditions the girl was in and immediately took care of her, while the blonde mage sat patiently outside the room waiting for some news. After a long while the doctor got out and informed the boy telling him that in a little time his friend would be fine and that for the moment she needed to rest. However he asked Laxus some questions about how she got those injuries: she had told him that it was only the Vulcan who hurt her, but he wasn't convinced at all since she was in shackles, and he had found many signs made by needles or scalpels on her body and God only knows what who imprisoned her has done to her. But Laxus couldn't answer the doctor because unfortunately he had as many questions as him and maybe more.

When he was allowed to go and see her, he entered the room and took a chair to sit next to her bed. He found her sleeping peacefully with a serene expression adorning her features and her long curls sprawled on the pillow. A few hours later she woke up and sat in the bed ignoring the pain in her torso and found him asleep on the chair. She smiled for his tenderness, it had been nice of him to stay by her side, but at the same time she was scared that he had remained with her just to bring her back _there_. Hearing her stirring in the bed, Laxus woke up and asked her how she was doing. "I'm fine, thank you". After a brief moment of silence he decided to ask her to clear the situation and to tell him what really happened, hoping that maybe she would have trusted him more than she did the doctor, but she preceded him going straight to the point and asking him the question which was pestering her since she met him: "How did you find me? Were you looking for me or it was just a random occurrence?"

"You should tell me your name, if I don't know who you are I can't answer you"

"I'm Julie. Julie Evans"

"Yeah, I was looking for you, but not for the reason you're thinking, at least not anymore"

"What do you mean?"

"I know that the guy who hired me to find you was lying about his identity and I know you were running away from him. So, care to explain me the rest of the situation and the reason of all this?"

"I can't. Just tell him you didn't find me but don't bring me back to him" she pleaded.

"Fairy Tail mages never fail in completing a mission. I can't bring that shame upon my guild. Though I don't have any intention to leave you in his hands, and I already want to make him pay for lying to me and pretending to be someone else defrauding my guild"

"Are you crazy?! You don't know his strength, he might kill you!" she said hysterically.

"That's my problem, not yours. Now tell me what happened, why are you running away from him? What did he do to you?"

His argument was flawless, though she was still scared of his judgement:"You're going to be disgusted by me".

"I won't judge you"

"Can you promise it?"

"I promise" he snorted. He wasn't the kind of person who played these silly games.

She resigned and told him her story: "I'll start from the very beginning: until 5 years ago I lived with my parents in a little house in the town of Oshibana. We were a very happy family, we had fun all the time and we loved each other so much. Our lives went well until I got a strange disease that made me feel pain everywhere in my body and caused me to have a very high temperature. My parents, very concerned about that, brought me in a specialized center for this kind of diseases where doctors told them that I couldn't be cured and would have died in less than a year. My parents were desperate and didn't want to believe that in a few months I wouldn't have been with them anymore, unfortunately they didn't know that the doctors were lying to them. After a few days pretending to do something to heal me because my parents literally begged them to, they showed their true face and cruelly killed them in front of my eyes. I was shocked. I just couldn't register what had just happened before me. Tears fell from my eyes but I didn't feel anything except for an unbridgeable emptiness and dread" Her voice started to break.

"When all I could do was looking at them disconcerted, the doctors told me the hard truth: I had a simple excess of magic that could have been easily cured by eliminating a part of the magic in my body, but they needed me to be able to handle all the magic power I had so that they could use me for their vile purposes. When I heard those words all the fear and the rage I felt because I was alone and it was all their fault, exploded" she unconsciously clenched her hands around the sheets until her knuckles were white.

"I lost my self control: I screamed with all my voice and released a huge part of my magical power. I destroyed the whole building and killed many doctors, but one was still standing unharmed in the middle of the wreckages not caring about the dead bodies of his colleagues scattered around him on the ground with a wicked creepy grin. After I realized what happened I felt guilty for what I had just done. I didn't want to kill anybody! It was all a mistake! I wasn't controlling myself! I didn't mean to hurt anybody like that!" she said it with conviction and Laxus could see she was sincere. "I still feel awful thinking about that..." she looked down in shame and regret trying to avoid the blonde's gaze.

"In that moment the alive doctor started walking coming closer and closer to me as my despair grew, he hit me with his magic and I fainted. When I woke up I found myself shackled and alone in a cell. Then I noticed I had a collar: I was successively explained that it prevented me from using magic if I wasn't authorized because if I tried to it would have sent in my body a jolt of electricity. With time I made friends with all of the children inside the building, we were so many. In particular, I had a stronger bond with 5 other children: Alejandro, Christian, Zach, Rebecca and Ultear. When we were out of our cells we used to stay together, they were the only thing that prevented me from freaking out in that horrible place. In fact those "doctors" used to bring us everyday in a big room full of machines and wires that had to be connected to us and tortured us trying to increase our magical power and our capability to handle it. It was very very painful. Going on with the years, we tried to figure out a way to escape that place. We didn't want to stay there and we were afraid for our lives, because many people died because of those procedures. In the end only me and my friends stayed alive.

Though one day Ultear managed to escape without saying anything to anybody and one week later came back completely changed: she didn't want to stay with us anymore and wanted to undergo the treatment to become stronger. Alejandro was mad at her but in the end he forgave her like all of us did. But a few weeks later Ultear destroyed the whole building overcharging the machines with her power and allowed us to run away. Unfortunately Rebecca lagged behind, Zach went back to get her and they both died in the explosion. That's what we assumed not seeing them coming back. We didn't know anything about Ultear either, we guessed she was dead too" Julie bit her quivering lower lip not to cry.

"We started to run away, sad because of our friends' destiny, but grateful for our salvation and happy because we had finally gained freedom after all that time. But our happiness lasted just a for a few days: we found ourselves being chased by that doctor's minion. He wanted to bring us to the new Bureau of Magical Development, we tried to hide from him but he found us in a short time. There was no chance for us to win the battle: we had our collars on and he's very strong. We realized that very soon, so Alejandro and Christian, in order to protect me, told me to run away as fast as I could and that they would have reached me later after defeating the man. I wanted to fight too by their side, I couldn't abandon them, so I refused. But then for the first time since I knew them, they shouted at me saying to go and not to waste their sacrifice. I never wanted it to be a sacrifice but obeyed them and ran away in tears because if they really died, then I didn't want them to lose their life in vain. As I went farther as a coward I heard punches, grunts and screams, I wanted to cover my ears but felt like I had to hear all that as some sort of punishment I was giving myself for being such a horrible person. But suddenly my friends' voices disappeared, first Christian's then Alejandro's. They were dead. They _are_ dead" tears ran down her cheeks and she tried to contain the sobs.

She swallowed and continued: "When you found me I was still trying to run away from that man, Raphael, but that Vulcan started to bother me and you know the rest".

Julie was a mess, with tears running down her cheeks and the hand free from the IV trying to hastily wipe them away. Laxus, nervous, didn't know what to do, so he clumsily tried to put a hand on top of the one with which she was still clenching the sheets. She turned her gaze to him in confusion and he could see her red eyes and puffy cheeks. He knew he had to say something comforting, _anything, _it's not like her story hadn't affected him at all, and he didn't think she had to be ashamed of anything. She was forced to act like that by the circumstances, not because she wanted to. But everything which came into his mind was just too fluffy and tender, it didn't suit his personality. _"Fuck" _was the only meaningful word wandering in his brain in that moment. That's how they passed from sadness to awkwardness:

"You don't have to comfort me, you know?" she tentatively spoke.

"Was my struggle that obvious?" he asked in disbelief.

"Well, you were looking at me as if you were about to say something, and your expression was very concentrated. So I figured out what you were trying to do"

"Damn!" he exclaimed rather annoyed.

She giggled and then exploded in a wholehearted laughter for the first time in a long time, she needed it. And Laxus realized with relief that she was cheered up, so he was safe for the moment. But he created a mental note: "_Train to control your facial expressions"._

When her laughter died out he turned serious: "I'm gonna beat up that Raphael guy"

She stared at him with concern. "Don't worry, I'm strong" Laxus said proudly. "He deserves a lesson for what he and his boss did to you"

"If you're doing this for me then it's not necessary, I don't want you to risk your life for me. I don't want anybody else's death on my conscience"

"It's not your fault if your friends died. It was their decision to put themselves against that guy. And even if you had been there, nothing would have changed. The only difference is that you would be dead and then all of your lives would be wasted. This way it's not, with simple fact that you are still alive you are carrying forward their will. Don't feel guilty for this"

As he spoke fresh tears of gratefulness and relief and somehow surprise, because she had never seen it from that point of view, prickled at the corner of Julie's eyes and she had to struggle not to break down in sobs again. "I told you it wasn't necessary to comfort me"

Laxus raised an eyebrow, very confused. "Forget what I said" she giggled _"He's kinda dense" _she thought with a strange fondness she didn't quite get the meaning of and laid a small, delicate kiss on his cheek as a sign of thankfulness. He immediately turned red and looked away, mouth agape as if he could hide his fierce creeping blush. She noticed it but didn't say anything about it not to embarrass him further.

Two days later the doctor discharged Julie and the two kids headed to Raphael's. The weather was sunny and they arrived _on foot_ in a couple of hours to their destination. During the small journey Julie informed Laxus about Raphael's magic: thanks to it he could create some portals which allowed him to teleport himself or a part of his body from one portal to another. Laxus simply reassured her: "I can move with the speed of a lightning, he won't get to touch me"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, you can be fast but he's _insanely_ fast. And very strong. If you get caught by a punch of his it'll take some time for you to recover and you don't have this time. In other words if he hits you, you're screwed"

"Just let me handle it. I'll prove it to you that I'm stronger than that bastard" he smirked.

Julie was still not convinced about the whole thing, but Laxus told her to trust him and once they arrived at Raphael's, he made her hide behind the building to be safe, then knocked on the door and as the man opened it, he knocked him out with a punch.

Raphael, finding himself sitting on the floor, looked baffled at the Dragon Slayer: "What the fuck are you doing? Where's my daughter?"

"Game over, dear Mr. Evans. Or should I call you Raphael?"

"Oh, so she spoke" he smirked amused. "I didn't expect that"

Laxus hit him with another punch: "Did you expect this?"

It took a few seconds for Raphael to recover from the electrified punch. He spit a tooth with a small amount of blood. "You're pissing me off, brat" he scowled at the obnoxious blonde. "If you stop this now, give me the girl and start minding your own business then I can spare your life. If not, then prepare to die" he added in an ominous tone.

"You don't scare me. Bring it on, you bastard!" Laxus exclaimed confidently as electricity started crackling around him.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Hey guys! Merry Christmas to everyone! :D Sorry I haven't updated in a long time, but I was very busy...I want you to consider this upload as a Christmas present, and I really hope you like it. Plus, I tried to make it longer and in a few minutes you'll have another chapter, so stay tuned! ;)

* * *

><p>Laxus found himself kneeling on the ground, clutching his stomach in pain and staring at a small pool of his own blood he had created in front of him. That damn Raphael was truly fast and strong, Julie wasn't kidding when she warned him. The man stood smugly in front of the hateful boy: "Finished already, blondie?". Laxus glared at him and threw a Lightning's Dragon Iron Fist at his enemy, but the man stopped it grabbing his forearm and clenching it until it broke eliciting a grunt from the young, now panting Dragon Slayer. A deep, ominous laughter vibrated in the man's throat: "Just pitiful! You said you could defeat me, where's all that strength you claimed to possess?"<p>

"Lightning Dragon's wing attack!" Laxus attacked enraged with his free arm, he wouldn't have allowed anyone to say he was pitiful or weak. He finally got to hit Raphael in the jaw and he acknowledged that he wasn't bad at all. But not enough. He newly kicked Laxus in the guts and finally let go of him. The blonde wizard stood up wiping away the trickle of blood lingering on his chin. He ran towards his enemy with his fists enshrouded in lightning, but the man teleported behind him and grabbed him by his hair smashing his face on the ground, which broke under the pressure of the impact, and skipped back. The Dragon Slayer rose with difficulty from the ground and the man raged on him before he could even get on his knees, showering him with punches and kicks while he tried to defend himself and contemporarily attack, but didn't manage to catch his opponent.

Raphael gave him a moment of truce and he reflected on what to do. He couldn't allow the situation to continue like that, so he examined the man's strategy: he noticed that when he hit him or grabbed him he was always careful not to touch the electricity on his body. Inwardly facepalming for not thinking about such an obvious thing before, Laxus enveloped himself in lightning, hoping that the man would truly refrain from touching him. Raphael hid his annoyance and studied a way to touch the young wizard without getting electrocuted, but he found none. So he created portals so that every time his opponent tried to attack him, the attack would immediately hit him instead. Furious for these stupid games, but unharmed because the lightning couldn't damage him, Laxus dashed towards his adversary who opened another portal, but before he could enter it, the blonde mage changed the direction he was heading to and started moving haphazardly, his body fast like a lightning crashing on the ground, the sound deafening like a thunder booming in the sky. Raphael kept teleporting because not knowing where the Dragon Slayer would go, the portals were useless, but Laxus got to hit him at some point and managed to really hurt him. That was his chance, he had to beat him before he could recover: "Lightning Dragon's jaw! Lightning Dragon's claw! Lighting Dragon's Roar!" They were just a few of the attacks that rained upon the man who couldn't do anything to defend himself.

Having used all of that magic, the young wizard was exhausted, so he ceased his attack. Both males were in bad conditions, but they were so determined to win that they weren't willing to stop until their opponent resigned or wasn't able to fight anymore.

"Why would you help someone you don't even know? After all she's done..." Raphael asked.

"You want to tell me she's the one who did bad things after what you did to her and her family?"

"She abandoned her friends, what tells you she wouldn't do it with you? You're just a stranger to her"

"You forced her to act like that, she regrets her actions"

"Do you really think that's true? She was just acting, she can be a good liar if she wants to"

"No, I could see the sincerity in her eyes"

"If you say so..."

Laxus remembered Julie's concern when he left her in a safe place:

_"Are you sure you want to do this?" _

_"I am"_

_"Why can't you let me fight with you?" it wasn't the first time she told him she wanted to fight by his side._

_"Because it's my fight. Plus, you're still injured and definitely not in the conditions to fight"_

_"But I can still be helpful!"_

_"No, you'd be a hindrance"_

_She pouted._

_"If you come inside, he might take advantage of a distraction of mine and take you away. I bet you don't want to go with him"_

_"You're very perspicacious..." she said sarcastically._

_Laxus glared at her: "Then stay here"_

_"Ok" she felt a coward but couldn't help feeling that fear. "But please, be careful. Scream if you need help"_

"_Yeah yeah I will…."_

"_I'm serious about it!" she shouted as he got far from her walking towards the door._

"She seems a good person who needs help, I want to give it to her" he was sure she hadn't lied to him. "Moreover, you asked for help to my guild, but it was a fake job, you tricked me pretending to be another person, I gotta make you pay for it"

"Risking your own life?"

"Yes"

"Then you'll have what you asked for! Shambles!" (**A/N: Yes, here I'm quoting Trafalgar Law XD**) Raphael teleported in front of Laxus and was about to throw a powerful punch at him aiming at his head, but the boy sent a jolt of lightning to the man stopping him. While the man recovered Laxus raised his fist in the air and prepared to launch his brand new attack: "Resounding through the air, the roar of thunder, plunge from the heavens and reap destruction. Raging bolt!" A massive lighting dawned on Raphael from above. The effect was devastating and Laxus's opponent was finally defeated.

Before he lost consciousness he warned the boy though: "You defeated me, but Master Brain will definitely come after you! And he's way stronger than me!"

"I'll defeat him too if necessary" he solemnly stated "But in the meantime I can still have the Council take care of you and your friends" he grinned and went outside to check on Julie.

The girl was really worried about the boy and during the whole battle she'd been undecided if she had to go inside or not. The fear of being abducted again made her consider the option to stay out, but when she thought about how mad Laxus would get if she interfered in his fight and how he would start blabbering about his wounded pride and all those stupid things boys like him care about, she got convinced to stay where she was. Though the sight of him all bloody and injured made her regret her choice and feel guilty about that. But he was smirking proudly as if he were saying: "I told you so", so she rolled her eyes and ran towards him, hugging him. "Thank you" she whispered. She had a smile on her face: he was safe and she was really free. Not expecting that and not being the kind of guy who made displays of affection, he awkwardly patted her back: "Yeah yeah" and she pulled away giggling.

After he called an officer of the Council who arrested Raphael, the girl brought Laxus to the clinic they'd left a few hours earlier and when the doctor saw them he couldn't help saying: "Seriously? Now him?". After less than half an hour Julie was sitting next to Laxus's bed and having someone other than his grandfather next to him when he was injured felt odd for him, but pleasant. The two started to talk about Laxus's battle and he reported Raphael's words: _"You defeated me, but Master Brain will definitely come after you! And he's way stronger than me!"_

All colors drained from Julie's face: "Master Brain, how could I not consider him?" she said with a shaky voice.

"Don't worry about him, I warned the Council and they told me that they already have him in their custody. Seems that someone had already denounced him before us"

"Who could they be?"

"I have no idea, I didn't ask. Did I have to?"

"No…" she thoughtfully averted her gaze.

"_What if...? No, that can't be…" _she pondered.

Since she seemed still a little concerned, he tried to calm her further: "If he manages to break free, Fairy Tail will protect you"

"Fairy Tail?"

"Yeah, if I understood correctly you have no one, so why not joining my guild? You'll find many kids your age there"

"I really can?" she asked hopeful.

"If you want to" he shrugged.

"Yes!" she exclaimed enthusiastic.

Laxus smiled and they kept speaking about the guild, the boy described all its members: "There's Natsu: he's a pink haired brainless idiot who uses fire"

"I see you have I high consideration of him" she joked.

"I have I high consideration of everyone there!"

"I thought you were all friends" she said a little disappointed.

"We are. But I'm the oldest there and they're all brats to me. I love 'em but I also like mocking 'em a little"

"Seems fair to me" she smiled. "Who's next?"

"Gray. He's a fuckin' stripper!"

"A stripper?!"

"He takes off his clothes each 5 minutes..."

"Just...why?"

"Dunno, don't care" he shrugged.

"I'm starting to get why you can't take them seriously"

"Finally someone who understands me! My grandfather always lectures me for this..." he looked aside annoyed.

"So, it's not a guild all made of 'brats' "

"Most of the members are children but there are also adults. Macao and Wakaba are two perverts who always talk about women, there's Gildarts but he's never in the guild, since he's very strong he always takes hard missions which take months or even years to be completed. You won't meet him when you arrive. Then there are my father and my grandfather, the Master"

"Wow, the Master! And what about your dad?"

He cringed at the question and she noticed it, but before she could say something else he answered: "He is a strong mage, but doesn't aim to be Master"

Since his family seemed to be a taboo topic she decided to ask more about the other children. "There's Erza. She's pretty strong, the strongest girl in the guild, I gotta admit it, but she's still no match to me" he smirked confidently. "She always fights with Mirajane"

"And who's Mirajane?"

"She's our demon!" he said with pride. "She can compete with Erza, but her personality isn't one of the best. She's pretty spiteful and tries to find ways to provoke Erza and fight with her. Erza plays innocent and mature but she's just as childish as her, especially when you touch her strawberry cake" he shuddered. "The only people Mirajane is kind to are her siblings, Elfman and Lisanna. Elfman is kinda fearful, not confident at all. Lisanna instead is a nice girl, she is friendly with everyone and...wants to marry Natsu" he burst out laughing like an idiot.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Natsu doesn't even know what a boyfriend is or what the word 'romance' means" he facepalmed. "The poor Lisanna fell in love with the wrong guy"

Instead of laughing with him Julie decided to tease Laxus: "So I assume you can be a very romantic guy…" she smirked.

The blonde wizard abruptly stopped laughing and turned bright red: "THIS IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" he shouted and the doctor went and smacked him on the head telling him to be quiet. This time it was Julie's turn to laugh as the doctor left the room and Laxus rubbed his head with a scowl on his face. Then they kept gossiping about the Fairy Tail children till late at night.

The day after Laxus had miraculously recovered from injuries that would keep anyone normal in bed for at least a month. He and Julie decided to leave, he wanted to go on foot but Julie insisted to use the train because Magnolia was distant from Hargeon and it would take forever to get there on foot. Plus, she couldn't wait to get to Fairy Tail so the 'promenade' wasn't really an option she considered. The Dragon Slayer obviously didn't want to show his weakness nor to suffer for hours before reaching their destination, he preferred walking for days rather than spending a minute on a means of transport. Though in the end he was forced to resign to Julie's will and logic cursing her as they waited for the train in the station and as they took their seats.

As soon as the train started moving on the railway, Laxus couldn't speak anymore: he felt as if his stomach had been turned upside down. Small drops of cold sweat lingered on his forehead, his heart rate increased and he didn't dare looking out of the window. He swallowed and dug his nails in the armrest of his seat. His Classic Rock 'n' Roll was playing on his old Sound Pod but it wasn't very helpful. Noticing his uneasiness, Julie asked him what was wrong.

"Nothing" he mumbled.

"Come on, it's obvious that something's wrong. Just spit it out"

"The point is that I truly have something to 'spit' out" he snapped.

"You gotta throw up?"

He nodded.

"And why wouldn't you say it?"

"I didn't want to admit this weakness. It's already embarrassing enough that strangers notice my malaise, if also the people I know knew that it would be horrible"

"Oh, so the mocker is scared to be mocked"

"This is no time for teasing"

"Whatever. If you had said it before I would have accepted to go on foot"

"Really?"

"Yeah"

"Damn"

"Come on, try to lay on my lap. Maybe the sensation eases"

With no little embarrassment he complied. He had to admit Julie's lap was very comfy, her touch delicate and her scent lovely. After a while he extraordinarily started feeling a little better and told it to her. "How the hell is this possible?"

"I'm keeping you firm, you dumbass"

"Oh. Anyway you won't tell anyone about this, will you?"

"Mmm…I don't know"

"Promise it!"

"Fine fine, but I only keep the pinky promises" she gave him a wicked grin.

"What?!"

"If you want me to keep this secret of yours then we'll have to make a pinky promise"

"Here in front of everyone?"

"Exactly"

"Do you like embarrassing me in front of people?" he whined.

"I love doing it"

"You son of a…"

In the end Laxus made the pinky promise. He felt everyone's eyes on him, but nobody really considered him.

"Ah, there's also another thing you gotta keep your mouth shut about: you saw that my magic is Dragon Slaying magic, but Gramps told me not to say anything about it. It's a long story, I guess. So I'm a common lightning mage to the others, ok?". Seeing his seriousness she immediately agreed and didn't question him about this 'long story', she perceived it was something personal.

"So, what's your magic?"

"I use the matter make, I can create and manipulate molecules, atoms and electrons"

"Seems cool"

"It is! One of these days I'll give you a display if you want to"

"I think I won't have to wait more than a few hours to see how your magic works"

"How do you know it?"

"You'll see" he smirked knowingly.

During the remaining 2 hours of travel which separated them from Magnolia, the two kids listened to the music in Laxus's music player. The boy was convinced that the girl would hate this kind of music, instead he was pleasantly surprised in seeing that she enjoyed the sound of the electric guitars and the basses which sent shivers down her spine.

When the train arrived in the station of Magnolia, Laxus rushed out of it and Julie saw him out of the window before she even realized he was no longer lying on her lap. As they walked in the streets Julie got fascinated by the beauty of the city. She looked all the buildings, the bridges, the shops, the Christmas lights… Laxus seemed uninterested until they got to a music shop. In the showcase there were many items: CDs, tapes, amplifiers, speakers, mp3 players, microphones, stereos, radios and even musical instruments. But what caught Laxus's attention was the newest model of Sound Pod, the Sound Pod 6 Plus **(A/N: I let myself get inspired by a certain iPhone :P)**. He went in the shop to look at it more closely: he loved its design, with the spikes on the headphones. Plus it had a bigger mass memory, a longer wire, a longer-lasting battery, the headphones had a better quality and there were many other functions Laxus wanted. Unfortunately it cost 949,000,000 Jewels. Too expensive for his pockets and his grandfather would definitely say that he didn't need it and that he could buy a cheaper model. He went outside and said his last goodbye to that magnificent Sound Pod. Seeing how much he wanted it and his friend's sad expression, Julie decided that she would do anything to buy that music player to Laxus.

In the meantime she tried to cheer him up differently and in 10 more minutes of walk two smiling kids arrived at Fairy Tail. Laxus and Julie could already hear the laughter and the shouts of many people from the outside. There wasn't even need to open the door because it got destroyed by a flying pink haired mage, followed by a running bare chested black haired kid who called him 'flametard'.

"Natsu and Gray I suppose" the girl told Laxus.

"Correct"

"Oi Ice prick! Do you see this fist? I'mma shove it up your ass!"

"_Refined!" _she thought giggling.

"NATSU! GRAY! HOW MANY TIMES DID I TELL YOU NOT TO FIGHT? DID YOU SEE WHAT YOU DID TO THE DOOR?" a demonic aura spread from Erza who beat both Natsu and Gray to a bloody pulp.

"Wasn't Mirajane the Satan Soul mage?" Julie whispered to Laxus confused.

"Yeah, but when she's mad she can get even worse" he whispered back.

Natsu sniffed the air and realized Laxus was back: "Laxus, fight me!"

"Nah, I don't feel like doin' it"

"I'm coming!" Natsu said with his fist enveloped in burning red flames and Laxus simply sent a jolt of lightning to him and he was quieted for a while. Natsu's actions brought everyone's attention onto Laxus. Even the guild members who were inside the building came outside and noticed the girl next to the blonde. Macao elbowed Wakaba whispering him that Laxus had finally found himself a girlfriend and that she was even cute. With his super hearing the Dragon Slayer heard it and zapped the two men for sweet revenge. Erza came back to normal and introduced herself to Julie: "Hello, I'm Erza Scarlet. It's very nice to meet you" she stretched out a hand which Julie grabbed to introduce herself as well: "I'm Julie Evans, nice to meet you too!" she smiled as she thought how cool Erza's bipolar personality was.

"Erza, where's the Master? Julie wants to join the guild and I need to talk to him" Laxus intruded.

"He's in his office. I'll go and call him for you"

While Erza went and called the Master, all the guild members curiously crowded around Julie to get to know her and introduce themselves. The Master arrived outside in a few minutes: he acted desperate as he saw the broken door thinking about how much it would cost to repair it, but immediately composed himself to welcome the new arrived. As he got close to them, his grandson told him they had to talk, so Makarov disbanded everyone and the three of them went in his office. There the two kids informed him about the whole situation: Julie's story, Raphael's act, the intervention of the Council and the possible risk Julie ran. To Makarov none of all that represented a problem, he allowed Julie to join the guild and confirmed Laxus's words: they would protect her if necessary. Julie obtained her violet guild mark on her right hip and went downstairs with Laxus accompanied by the Master's voice who told everyone to celebrate for the new member. She was finally happy.

In the meantime Natsu had recovered and as soon as he saw her, he challenged Julie to a fight. She got the meaning of Laxus's sentence as he smirked behind her and accepted, wanting to test her powers. All the guild members encircled them to watch the show, curious to see the new girl in action, and the fight began: as she saw Natsu setting his fists on fire, she eliminated all the oxygen around them and they turned off. The fire mage stopped his running not understanding what had just happened. He lit his fists again, but Julie turned them off once more with the same technique she had used before. The Dragon Slayer stubbornly threw attacks at the girl who wasn't even engaging herself in that small one-sided fight. Finally realizing that the fire wouldn't work, Natsu decided to hit her without magic but she dodged or blocked his weak punches and kicks. As she got bored, she decided to conclude the fight punching her opponent right on his nose, he fell behind and passed out.

Her new comrades cheered for her, but Mirajane stubbornly made her way through the crowd and challenged Julie as well: she wanted to see if she was truly strong or if it was just Natsu who was weaker than the usual. Julie accepted and the two started the fight. Mirajane used her Satan Soul and made the first move: "Evil explosion!" Julie barely managed to dodge it, she was fast. She gathered all the molecules of Eternano in the air and created a big ball of pure white magic which she threw at her opponent who didn't make it in time to avoid it. As Mirajane recovered Julie was already behind her and had blocked her in a deadly headlock: just one move and her neck would be broken, so the demon admitted her defeat. The newbie had gained the demon's respect.

That's when Erza stepped forward attracted by the challenge Julie represented so she asked her to fight. She gleefully accepted, excited to be able to fight with the strongest girl in the guild. Erza requipped two huge swords and pointed one of them at her opponent. Wanting a fight between swordmasters, Julie created atoms of iron and gathered them together to create two swords of hers. Before starting to fight the two girls decided to stop as one of them lost all of her swords. They started in the same moment, throwing powerful swipes at their respective adversary. Erza was fast and agile, she seemed to dance with her weapons, but Julie was just as capable to handle them, though her muscles held more strength. In fact when they got to the ultimate confrontation with their swords one against the other, Julie prevailed and Erza dropped her last sword on the floor.

Laxus, impressed by Julie's strength, was curious to test her personally. It's not like Erza and Mirajane were strong to him, but at least he didn't consider them hopeless as he did everyone else. "Julie, I'm the strongest guy in here, fight me". Choruses of angry heys arose from the surrounding crowd but he didn't mind them.

Julie, still panting and mildly injured for the previous fights, couldn't refuse such a proposal, so she accepted even if the level of her magic was getting dangerously low and the fatigue was starting overwhelm her. The two started to fight, but this time it was Julie who made the first move wanting to finish it as soon as possible: she separated the atoms which composed her body and recomposed herself a couple of seconds after above him, trying to crash a sphere of magical power on him, though he managed to create a small shield of lightning so she didn't hit him. She nimbly landed behind him and he rapidly turned around hitting her in the stomach with a lightning punch which made her cough some blood. Julie backed away and Laxus started throwing at her his lightnings. Being very fast, she avoided many of them, but many of them caught her and electrocuted her as well. She was running out of magic, but she absolutely had to do something: she tried with a technique she still didn't master very well and which consumed a big amount of magic, but if it worked it could be her trump card. She started moving the electrons in the air and gathered them all in a part of the room. Electricity is a flow of electrons, so those which composed Laxus's lightnings, started moving towards the opposite side of the room where there was a high concentration of protons to balance the situation. Continuing to use this technique Laxus was no longer able to control his magic. She took advantage of that and repeatedly attacked him. Though Laxus could still defend himself and had a great physical strength which allowed him to hurt her despite he couldn't use his magical powers. After 10 minutes like this they were both very tired and as her technique started working less, he was finding a way to get around the obstacle, so a transformation in gum was necessary if she wanted to win. Julie turned the molecules of her body into molecules of gum and the lightning wizard got annoyed noticing that his magic wasn't sorting any effect. So he started punching and hitting her again with his bare hands, but her body only bounced the attacks back. Then he got an idea: lightnings are scalding, maybe he could get to melt her. He concentrated his full power in a huge lightning and threw it at her constantly fueling it to maintain its destructive heat and after a while she was truly melting. The only thing that came to her mind was to produce some ice, but she wasn't able to modify the links among the atoms of water, plus she had no more magic, even the transformation in gum wasn't going to last long: she was screwed. After two more minutes the amount of magical power in her body was equal to zero so she automatically got back to normal and suffered the power of Laxus's exaggeratedly charged lightning falling unconscious on the floor.

Worried that his power was too overwhelming for her, Laxus rushed towards her and checked her vital signs: she was still alive but seemed weak. The blonde Dragon Slayer took Julie in his arms and carried her bridal style to the infirmary with his head low, ignoring the accusatory looks his comrades gave him, he already felt bad enough. His father was leaning on the wall giving him a disapproving look: he was disappointed by his son, but not because he had lost control and hurt a comrade, it was because he had been given a hard time by a girl.

After a good ten minutes Julie woke up in a bed and found many people worriedly staring at her, then turned her head and saw Laxus out of the room, his head turned down so that his bangs covered his eyes, his teeth biting his lip while a black haired man seemed to be lecturing him for something.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Here I am again! :) Here's a very joyful chapter :P For this I also changed the rating, and from now on it'll only get worse XD I hope that with this I am forgiven! :P Bye!:D

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><p>Julie recovered very fast, the day after she was already back on her feet. In the following days she slowly made friends with everyone, rented a room in Fairy Hills and started to take many missions not going unnoticed by Laxus. During those days she also found out that the black haired man she saw that night was none other than Laxus's father. When she only asked him if it was everything ok, he grumpily answered her that it was none of her business.<p>

Christmas Day was near and with her missions Julie had gathered so much fatigue but also the necessary money to buy the Sound Pod that Laxus wanted so badly, so she hastily went and bought it. Fairy Tail had organized a big party for the night of the 24th December where the members would wait till midnight to exchange their wishes for a merry Christmas and the presents they had bought for the others. Laxus was there but not really in the mood for partying: he had fought again with his father who had repeated him how useless he was. A very nice Christmas Eve at the Dreyar's. Unaware of his friend's issues, at the stroke of midnight Julie took the small package she had made and brought it to Laxus. That's when she noticed he had a black eye, a bloody lip and a bruise on his left cheek.

"What happened to you?"

"I took a mission this morning, a wyvern wasn't very happy to see me" he lied. The truth was that Ivan's form of communication left its mark.

"Oh ok!" Julie said, no longer concerned and gave the present to Laxus who looked at it with suspicion.

"What is this for?"

"Christmas?"

"But I haven't bought anything for you"

"That's not a problem, you've already made me a wonderful present"

"I didn't know that"

"You brought me here at Fairy Tail! I consider this a huge present"

"Ahhh" he said that and simply stared at her not even looking the small present in his hands.

"Come on, open it!" Julie said impatiently.

"Ah, right"

He took away the wrapping and looked at the small package. His jaw dropped as he read "Sound Pod 6 Plus" and saw the picture on the front of the box. He looked at Julie with the same dumbfounded expression: "You gotta be shittin' me…". She smirked. He hastily took the music player out of its box as if he had to check it was truly the one he wanted and it was! He kept shifting his gaze from the Sound Pod to Julie for a couple of minutes then he hugged her much to her surprise. "Do you have any idea of how much I wanted this?"

"I kinda imagined it, when you saw it it was the only time I saw excited about something"

"But it costs 940,000,000 Jewels, where did you get all of that money?"

"Missions"

"All of those missions you took were just to buy this?!"

"Well…sort of" she rubbed the back of her head.

"It wasn't necessary, you could have bought something for yourself"

"Nah, I saw how much you wanted this thing, and I also saw how worn out is your old one. I have plenty of time to buy something for myself, this was my priority"

"Really?"

"Yeah" she smiled.

"Oh" he said with a bashful smile on his face.

"Oh?" she asked confused.

"I'm surprised"

"Why?"

"It doesn't matter now, let's go and see the other presents"

"Ok!" she exclaimed happily.

As Makarov spilled tears of joy for his grandson's generosity, Laxus thought that Julie was really something, he knew that material things weren't the most important thing in the world, but no one besides his grandfather had ever been so selfless to put their interest after his. Nor had anyone ever bought him a present, let alone such an expensive one. He started to consider her a little more than just the girl he had brought to Fairy Tail, he started to think of her as a true friend he couldn't afford to lose. Yeah, in the guild they were all like a big family, all the members loved each other and he was no exception. But he had no true relationship with the children in the guild, he was a lonely boy. This time it was different though, there was something special about this girl that he couldn't define.

_Timeskip: 1 year and a half._

After that Christmas Day, Laxus and Julie got everyday closer, until they became inseparable best friends and partners to complete the missions for the guild. The two kids got along very well, they worked perfectly together, they were considered the strongest team of Fairy Tail before the arrive of Team Natsu and seemed to have a special connection, in fact during such an important event for him as the Fantasia Parade Laxus allowed Julie to perform on the same float as him, something which never occurred before, since the boy had always wanted the float all to himself.

During these months Julie also trained to become stronger and studied physics and chemistry to improve the quality of her magic and discover other things she could do with it. Since she had begun scientific studies, she also decided to wage medicine and she was becoming a pretty good doctor. Little did she know that she would have to use this new knowledge of hers very soon.

One day she woke up very early, had breakfast and got ready as fast as she could looking forward to spending another day with Laxus. Once she was in the street, she headed as usual to Laxus's to pick him up and go to the guild together. But when she knocked on the door, instead of Laxus, she found herself facing Ivan. He was drunk and smelled heavily of alcohol.

"Good morning, sir. Is Laxus home?" she asked politely.

"Yeah, he's at home but he's not doing well, so don't show yourself here anymore!" he slammed the door in front of her.

She didn't even have the chance to ask him what was wrong with Laxus so, worried and not at all convinced by the man's words, she decided to go and check on her friend by herself. Since she had visited Laxus many times, she knew that Ivan would go out around half an hour later like he did almost every morning, so she hid behind the building waiting for him to leave. As soon as she heard him locking the door, she climbed the wall and got in Laxus's bedroom from the open window, unaware of a young Natsu across the street who watched and learned.

What she saw when she entered in the room shocked her: a bloodied Laxus lay sprawled, face down on the floor. She rushed and crouched next to him and he acknowledged her presence when she called him frantically: "Laxus! Laxus, can you hear me?". He turned his head to face her and she saw his battered features and his dull eyes as he breathed shakily and tried to hold back tears. She gasped and asked him what happened as she helped him sit, careful to touch him gently not to hurt him further. He remained silent and she repeated her question: "Laxus what happened? Who did this to you?". Still silence. But his expression changed this time: it became pained and almost pleading, as if he were silently asking her not to insist. She understood it and immediately hugged him to herself trying to give him a small form of comfort, feeling stupid for weighing him down with such unimportant questions. In that moment he just needed to let himself go and a shoulder on which he could cry, not an interrogation. Laxus tried hard to keep himself from crying, even if he desperately needed to. He took deeper, painful breaths to keep control but Julie, realizing it, tried to make him feel more comfortable: "You can cry, there's no need to hold back your tears, it is nothing to be ashamed of". Laxus bit his quivering lip and remained still silent, not allowing a single tear to escape. Then, thinking that maybe he preferred to be alone, the girl asked: "Do you want me to leave?"

"No, stay with me. Please" he whispered.

"Ok" she started stroking his hair "I won't judge you, nor tell anyone about this. It'll be our secret". But he kept blinking away the tears. "Crying is not a weakness. It is the only way we have to help us face the painful things which happen in our life" those words started piercing through the imaginary wall Laxus had created around his heart to protect himself from his feelings. "But I promise I won't let anyone make you suffer anymore. You won't need to cry anymore. This is the last time" The lightning mage then let the tears run down his cheeks no longer able to keep his pride in consideration: he started sobbing desperately into her neck and she held him tighter whispering comforting words into his ear. Once he calmed down a little they broke the embrace and she cupped his face with her hands. "It's ok if you don't want to tell me what happened or who did this to you, but at least let me treat your wounds: you can't stay like this"

"Fine" he croaked out.

Julie tried to help him to stand up but his legs were numb. Even just trying to move them was painful and tiring, so it was extremely difficult to get him sitting on the bed. As she went and took plasters, bandages, creams and other medical stuff to take care of him, he took off his shirt. When she got in the room again Julie gasped in horror: blood leaked from a cut on the back of Laxus's head, his back was full of old cuts and burns. Then a massive purple bruise extended itself from the middle of his back reaching lower than the hem of his trousers. She walked in front of him and the situation wasn't better: his torso was completely covered in bruises and burns, especially the right side. His left arm was a black and bloody pulp filled with cuts from which the ends of broken bones came out. On his neck there was a purple mark covering its whole circumference. His face was swollen, he had yellow bruises on his cheekbones and jaw, a black eye, a deep cut on his lips and his nose was broken. Disfigured like that he was almost unrecognizable.

She made him lie down on the bed so that she could examine his back better. The cuts and burns she had seen had healed, though the marks didn't disappear and never would. His spine was badly damaged and a couple of vertebras compressed the nerves connected to his legs, that's why they hurt like hell and he couldn't use them properly. After fixing those problems with an improvised massage, she made him turn around and started to check his abdomen fearing internal bleeding or critical damages to his organs. Luckily his organs were relatively fine and there was no bleeding. He was a resistant Dragon Slayer after all. But his sternum was broken, along with two ribs on the left and four on the right. Putting them back in place was extremely painful for Laxus, and for long, intense minutes the only sounds in the room were his smothered screams and the chilling noise of cracking bones. His left arm was in a very bad condition: the bones had almost been pulverized, they were reduced into tens of small pieces and putting them all back in place was a very long job. Once it was done Julie stitched all the small cuts caused by the bones tearing his skin and put the arm in the right position. Laxus's windpipe and throat were badly damaged because they had been squeezed together and constrained into a too small space, and his cervical vertebras were broken. She put some cream on the swollen bruises on his face and fixed his nose and the broken bones around his right, blackened eye, brushing her thumb on his cheeks to wipe away the solitary tears which occasionally fell from his eyes. In the end she stitched the cuts on his lips and on the back of his head and bandaged him.

"I'm done" she informed. He murmured a thanks an invited her to lie on the bed with him. She complied and lay before him on her side, then started caressing his cheek while he frowned thinking if he wanted to tell her what happened. That would mean finally taking a heavy weight off of his chest, but was he really ready to do that? And did he really have the nerve to tell someone what his father really was like?

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"Do you want to know what happened?" his voice came out as a croak.

"Only if you feel comfortable telling me. Don't feel forced to do it" she smiled reassuringly.

He seemed to reconsider his decision for a moment, but then started the narration more convinced than before: "Last night my father came back home from his usual wandering, completely drunk. When I heard him slamming the front door, I faked I was sleeping because I didn't want to see him nor talk to him: when he's drunk he always loses his self control and the grip on his emotions becoming violent. Despite my acting, he came into my room and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt shaking me with energy and shouting to wake me up believing I was really asleep. He tossed me on the floor and started showering me with kicks on the ribs as I consequently kept hitting my back against the corner of the desk for hours, calling me scumbag, worthless piece of shit, a poor excuse for a son…" his voice trembled. "As I groaned in pain he got even more furious, saying that I had no right to complain, and slammed me against the wall pressing his hand on my chest leaving me breathless, then started punching me on the face while he held me up by the neck literally strangling me" he cleared his voice as to send away the oppressing feeling in his throat. A few tears started falling from his eyes on the pillow. "After letting me fall on the floor he started stomping on my back and on my arm until he got tired and left me there, telling me it was my fault if his life sucked and that he wished I was never born" after that he exploded in a new fit of sobs nestling into her warm embrace and crying into her chest.

"Sometimes I cover my ears not to hear what he tells me. It just hurts too much" he whimpered. "I thought about suicide"

Julie froze and shifted her position to look him in the eye, her heart hammering in her chest and shock adorning her features.

"He always says he wished I was never born or asks me why I don't just die, so why not killing myself? I wouldn't be a hindrance for him anymore, and he could pretend I never existed"

She fought the urge to slap him in the face. "Don't you ever dare think something like this again. You're not a hindrance, nor something to forget. Your father's behavior is not your fault, it's a problem of his and you are not its cause. You mustn't change or disappear for him, just don't listen to what he says, they're all idiocies" her voice was firm and she was convinced of what she said. Laxus felt fresh tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. "And then if you died don't you think about how many people would suffer?! Master, Fairy Tail, me…What would I do without you?" her hysterical voice broke under the weight of tears.

Laxus's lips turned into a small smile: she was right, someone still cared about him. "Sorry, I won't get funny ideas anymore"

"You'd better not" she dried her tears and hugged him again.

The gitl was shocked by Ivan's evilness. But she wasn't too surprised to know he was the one who reduced Laxus into those conditions: since she arrived at the guild she had noticed that he was different from everyone else. He emanated a hostile aura, as if he didn't belong to that place and wanted to burn it to ashes with everyone inside. He was capable of making Makarov go on a rampage and this says a lot. She had heard them both shouting at each other and fighting continuously. But the worst thing she had seen was exactly Laxus's change in demeanor around him. Every time he heard something about his father he got anxious or sad and melancholic, but never wanted to talk about it. And when he walked close to him he stiffened and kept his guard on as if he were scared he could do something to him. When they took long missions and had to sleep out she saw his sleep was troubled, he had nightmares and many times he had mumbled what seemed nonsensical stuff about his father. Now she knew the reason why and it made her feel sick. He had risked to paralyze his son, or even worse to kill him. And it wasn't the first time. Let alone the fact that the things he said hurt Laxus even more than his fists. He even thought about suicide, how mean could he be to make Laxus feel so bad? She already didn't like that man, but now she hated him. She swore she would have kept her promise: she would have never let him lay a finger on her friend anymore. Though something didn't quite fit: Laxus was strong, was it possible that he couldn't stop his father?

"Did you defend yourself?" she asked.

"Of course not. I can't even think to hurt my father, I just waited for him to end, hoping it happened soon"

"But why didn't you tell anyone about this situation? Gramps would have surely helped you"

"I can't tell him. What if he kicks my father out of the guild?"

"He wouldn't hurt you anymore"

"Yeah, but I don't want him to leave me alone, I need him"

"Why would you need someone who turns you into this?" the Laxus she was talking to didn't even look like her best friend: he wasn't proud, confident or strong, but weak and fragile. It scared her to see him like this.

"He's my father, I love him more than anything else"

Julie lowered her gaze. She felt sympathy for him: he loved his father more than any other person would, even if he treated him like that, even if it was clear that he didn't love him back. She didn't voice her thoughts because she knew that even if he was aware of that, hearing it would be too painful for her friend. She simply held him tighter.

"And then I'm scared that if he leaves he'll take me away with him. I don't wanna leave Fairy Tail, I don't wanna leave you and Gramps"

"I'd never let you go"

Laxus's heart soared for a moment. "Promise me that you won't say anything about this"

She hesitated for a moment but then nodded: "I promise". She didn't want to lose him.

They remained hugged like that for a while and Laxus fell asleep in Julie's arms as she kept cuddling up to him. They both could have stayed like that forever, it felt so perfect. Though after a couple of hours Julie heard Ivan coming back home and was forced to leave not to cause Laxus trouble. She jumped out of the window and remained silently in her landing spot for a while to make sure it was everything ok. It seemed all quiet, but just as she was about to leave she heard a slammed door and Ivan shouting: "YOU BASTARD! WHO DID YOU TELL?! HUH?"

"I didn't talk to anyone, I swear!" Laxus hoarse and terrified voice was heard.

"It's not true you motherfucker! You can't treat your wounds that well, someone must have helped you! You shouldn't have shown yourself to anyone! I'm gonna teach you a good lesson so that you won't forget..."

As soon as she heard that, Julie created an invisible wall to protect Laxus, connecting the molecules of Eternano in the air. Ivan cursed and kept insulting his son with horrible words a father should never say to their child as his punches and kicks landed on the invisible wall without touching the boy. Laxus stared surprised at the scene looking at his father but not hearing a single word of what he said, until he realized that the credit for that situation was Julie's and felt his heart pounding in his chest. Ivan kept trying to break Julie's wall and she kept fixing the cracks which formed on its surface reaching the end of her tether. When a tired Ivan left with the promise of revenge on him and whoever was that bastard who helped him, Laxus looked out of the window finding an exhausted Julie kneeling on the ground smiling up at him, her forehead beaded with sweat drops as she caught her breath. He smiled at her too, happy that he didn't keep that secret from her. He felt better because he had found someone with whom he could be his true self and who cared about him so much that they would face that pain with him and protect him from his inner demons who threatened to consume him.

He was completely sure that Julie would have never hurt him or abandoned him. But how wrong he was.

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><p>So...liked it? Hated it? Too much drama? Tell me what you think about it, it would be very nice to hear your opinion! :)<p> 


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